My version of life by Angela Pacheco

AMAZING

It is a great to be healthy, a concept I took for granted in life up until now. I feel like I could tackle anything now that the drugs are out of my system. Okay I might still be restricted to 5 lbs and I have multiple wounds recovering from surgery but I really don’t even notice. The fact that my energy is back and my active live cells are working again (hair, digestion, etc.) beats out everything else that is happening. I wake up with full energy and a little soreness can’t even begin to bring me down.

I am back into the swing of life and have so much appreciation for this experience. Last week I was back up on my feet after a successful final reconstruction surgery. My mom helped me through and I was up and about the very next day on my way to recovery. By Sunday I knew I was ready to move into my daily routine. A few weeks back when I first returned to work in the office on my normal schedule I wasn’t quite ready. I knew I had the surgery coming up and the additional check-ups I had to encounter really threw me off. This time the schedule was clear and I could change my focus from cancer care to the other parts of life. It all just clicked back into place on Monday and boy does it feel good!

Last Sunday I had another revelation – I beat cancer! I know I have shared that I was cancer free previously but it hadn’t really registered. Since I had tackled this like most things in my life I had been working through this disease with my treatment plan, checking off each step as we went…Surgery √ Chemotherapy √ and so on. Now I am working through the hormonal treatments and onto prevention drugs all of which should have little to know impact on daily life. And there it is – no more need for someone to come and take care of me. I took my mom to the airport for the last time as a part of this process – and there it was my reality moment, we were done and the cancer is gone. Unbelievable! I cried more that evening than I had since the diagnosis. I reflected on everything that had happened, most of which is under a fog, and it was one of the happiest moments in my life.

There was one additional piece of information I learned earlier that day which I know helped make that moment happen. Last year on my house hunt I lost out on a house down the street in the offer process, coincidentally the woman who got the house was also diagnosed with cancer at the same time as me. While I had previously learned she also had cancer, on Sunday I found out that she had passed away. I couldn’t even fathom this and it stuck with me the entire day – this is a disease that kills. Death was never an option for me, it really never came up and I didn’t think about it throughout my treatment. This was a bump in the road and I am still going to live a long and fruitful life- cancer can’t kill me. While this is my reality and I have been able to beat cancer, the truth is that it was possible, this scary disease can and does kill so many. With that said I ask you to get your check-ups and do your self-breast exams- men and women! Check out this site, Breast Self Exam pick your day of the month and put it on the calendar. I simple itch made me do a self-exam which saved my life.

I am enjoying each and everyday. This weekend was full of friends and great food and I am happy knowing my biggest concern this week will not be about my health…I am back and I feel AMAZING!!

I couldn’t be happier! Celebrating the 4th with friends in the sunshine.